5th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

They brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.

Mk 1:29-39

Church over the ruins of the house of St. Peter in Capernaum

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.

Simon Peter was a married man.

Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

Her cure was complete. She had no need of rest for fear of a relapse.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons

After sunset meant that the Sabbath was over and so they could lawfully carry their sick to Jesus. Carrying was considered work and was forbidden on the Sab-bath.

He cured many who were sick with various diseases.

The use of “many” here is not to be understood as: “He healed many of those who came.” This is an example of semitic speech. Many is to be understood as “He healed the many (or the multitude) who came”.

And he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him

Even if the demons spoke the truth, they would still use the truth for their evil purposes. It is enough to recall that when Satan tempted Eve, he told her the truth that eating the forbidden fruit would make them like God, knowing good and evil.

This is also an example of the so-called messianic secret. Jesus did not want to be publicly recognized as the Messiah for the simple reason that Jesus was the not the Messiah that people thought he was. For example, Jesus was not certainly a political Messiah who would get rid of the Romans.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Perhaps that was the only time he could be alone and pray.

He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.”

Jesus was an itinerant preacher.

So he went into their synagogues.

Jesus took the opportunity of Sabbath worship in the synagogue to preach to his countrymen.

THEIR synagogue. This might imply that when Mark wrote his gospel, the break between Christianity and Judaism was complete. Some date the complete break between Judaism and Christianity to be 70 AD at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.

In the beginning, however, Christianity was thought to be a sect of Judaism. In fact, it was normal for the Christians to worship in the Temple. “Then he led them (out) as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God (Lk 24: 51-53).

HEALING

What is the significance of the healing that Jesus does?

First, it is a sign that Jesus is truly God and truly man. Only God and only those with human hearts can be moved by the suffering of people.

Second, it is a sign that the conquest of evil by the power of the good has be-gun. When Adam and Eve sinned, they allowed the entry of evil in the world. Sickness and death which are forms of physical evil also entered the world. By curing the sick, Jesus shows himself more powerful over evil, not only over physi-cal evil but especially over sin which is called moral evil.

The 7 Sacraments of the Church were instituted by Christ so that he may be present in a special at important event in a person’s life. Birth is an important event. That’s why we celebrate it every year. There is a sacrament for that—Baptism.

Grave sickness is an important event in a person’s life. It is important in the sense that you can not take grave sickness for granted. There is a sacrament for that—Anointing of the Sick. The Church changed the name from Extreme Unction to Anointing of the Sick to tell Christians that this Sacrament is not only for the dying. It is for those who are gravely ill. The doctor can tell us if the sickness is grave. In that case, Jesus wants to accompany that sick person in his struggle to get well. Or if that sickness is fatal, Jesus wants to accompany him on his journey to the after life. Jesus does not want him to be alone.

The Fifth Commandment is “You shall not murder”. This commandment does not only prohibit taking away another person’s life unjustly. This commandment commands us to take care of our bodies and that includes taking care of our health and taking steps to restore our health if we do get sick.

We commit sin if we do not take care of our health. Excessive use of tobacco and alcohol is unhealthy and sinful. And if there is history of lung cancer in the family, use of tobacco can become even gravely sinful.

We commit sin if we do not take steps to restore our health. It is, therefore, sinful not to obey the reasonable orders of our doctor. For example, we have to take seriously our doctor’s orders about limiting sugar intake or about taking the medicine he prescribed.

Not only do our bodies need healing. Even our memories may need healing. We may have been hurt and we carry the memory of that hurt. Someone said that she was hurt because her father never showed interest in her children, his grand-children. He never asked how they were. And now her father was dead. What can she do?

Psychologists suggest several ways to healing. One is to write a letter. In this case, whenever that particular memory re-surfaces, she can write a letter to her dead father about what she feels. Once she finishes that letter, she burns it. She continues doing this letter writing every time that memory comes up and the hurt remains strong. She can stop writing once the hurt is no longer intense.

I have said that Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing. That is true. But it is not the only sacrament of healing. Confession is also a sacrament of healing. It heals us of sin and its consequences.

For example, it feels good to talk about the mistakes or bad things that other people do. Which do you think people would want to talk about? No. 1: Hoy, kagabi daw nakita sina Joana at Mike sa harap ng simbahan ng Baclaran. (Hey, last night someone said that they saw Joana and Mike in front of the Baclaran church) Or no. 2: Hoy, kagabi daw nakita sina Joana at Mike sa harap ng Victoria Court. (Hey, last night someone said that they saw Joana and Mike in front of Victoria Court. [In the Philippines the name is connected with not so innocent activity.]) Such talk doesn’t do any good neither to the people talked about nor to the people doing the talking.

Confession will not only forgive the sin committed but it will also give the grace in order to overcome that sin. Though one confession may not be enough to eradicate the sin, just as taking an anti-biotic once will not be enough.

Receiving forgiveness from God in confession can be a rewarding experience. One Michael Magone after making his confession to St. John Bosco was moved to tears. He said he felt so happy. And then added: “If my friends in Carmognola were to feel what I am now feeling, they would run to be the first in line to confess to Don [Fr.] Bosco.”

Try it. Who knows? It might do you a lot of good.